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Sons of the Tempest
The Sons of the Tempest are an army of mercenaries, paid for and at the personal command of Nicolas Stryker. They are actively recruiting from any human who wishes to sign on - training and weapons provided as part of the contract. Currently they have been drawing from three main pools of manpower - the faithful masses of humanity who attend the words of the Ecclesiarchy; the scum and rogues who form the gangs that terrorize the lower reaches of the station; and finally from the bold, the adventurous, from ex-mercenaries, ex-guardsmen, men-at-arms, arbites, arch-militants and all manner of violent men and women who wash up on the docks of Kerberos station. Organisation The Sons of the Tempest are organised into three divisions. The first of these is the Storm Division, led by Commander Lee Naomasa. The pride of Stryker's armies, the Storm Division often finds itself in the vanguard of assaults (or at least, in the vanguard of the endless drills they run), and they could not ask for a commander more savage, unrelenting or ferocious than Naomasa. Despite often sacrificing battlefield awareness to fight personally as close to the front as possible, her soldiers never fail to win through on faith in the Emperor, and in their commander's unwavering presence and tactical acumen. The second division is named The Gravediggers, in honour of Stryker's old mercenary company. All three divisions are organised and operate identically, however the Gravediggers have taken their name to heart, often laying ambushes by digging in their Chimeras and Leman Russ MBTs, keeping them hidden until the enemy is right upon them. Their commander, Wilhelm Mannerheim is an old Imperial Guard commander, pulled out of retirement by the promise of regular pay and an exciting death. More cautious than the rest of the senior command staff, he is a wiry old man, tempered by his years leading in the guard, and all too intimate with the horrors of war. For all he may be derided for lacking the other's fire or savagery, he is an indomitable figure, advancing his forces carefully across the field of war with as an unbreakable shield, an unstoppable spear, as a perfect engine of war. An undeniable military genius, his men follow him knowing that under Mannerheim they stand the best chance of surviving to drink their pay. The third division is the Bloody Hand, named by it's somewhat eccentric commander, Matrim Suvorov. Unlike Stryker, Lee, or Mannerheim, Matrim had absolutely no military experience prior to joining the Tempest. Further dividing him from his peers is the fact that prior to signing on he was the boss of an underhive gang called the Thorns. Chafing at what he saw as "a small part for small people" he leapt at the opportunity to make his name known beyond his local hab-blocks, and signed on as a non-com, bringing the entirety of his gang with him. With his natural charm and flair for command, Suvorov was swiftly noticed by Stryker and began to rocket up the ranks. The eager following he gathered, and his unnatural luck on the field soon made him an officer. Inspiring the soldiers under one's command is not enough to make someone a divisional commander however, and it was Suvorov's uncanny, sometimes prescient feel for the battlefield that finally granted him the rank of Commander. The soldiers under his command are utterly devoted to him and would follow him to hell: knowing him, most of them would make it back. Despite whispers that his extraordinary luck and battlefield know-how are because he's "warp-kissed" Suvorov well deserves his place amongst Stryker's command staff. Tactics The divisions under the command of Nicolas Stryker are organised similarly, with an emphasis placed on speed and mobility - shock and awe tactics. Recruiting and training is an expensive activity, and it is easier to keep mercenaries when they think their lives are important. What they lack in numbers, they more than make up for in ferocity and professionalism. Each division is organised into four brigades - three line brigades, and one under-strength support and reserve brigade. Each line brigade is further organised into six regiments - Mechanized Infantry make up half the numbers, with Armoured and Airborne regiments filling out the rest. On the battlefield squads will work together to surround their foes, using Chimeras to rapidly redeploy to an enemy’s flank, or to fall back before superior numbers can be turned into an advantage. Missile tubes are the default squad heavy weapon, due to their ease of use, variable payloads, and low cost. Every squad has a designated sharpshooter, who is usually equipped with a longlas or similar. In addition to this, squads will usually be equipped with a plasma gun and a flamer, for clearing out heavy and light infantry alike. The squad’s transport is equipped with powerful autocannons and heavy bolters, in order to kill fast moving light vehicles, and shred infantry and their cover alike. Airborne regiments operate similarly to their Mechanized counterparts, but with the added speed and strategic flexibility offered by their Valkyrie transports and Vendetta Gunships. Finally the Armoured companies are the mailed fist of Stryker’s armies - able to hit hard and fast at any entrenched position the enemy offers. The main bulk of the regiments are Leman Russ MBTs, but some companies may possess Demolishers, Executioners and the like. A brigade’s scouting is handled by elements in it’s Airborne and Armoured regiments - the Armoured regiments possess squads of Sentinel Walkers, able to traverse any terrain, and Vendetta Gunships fulfill the role of aerial reconnaissance - in force. A potential oversight is the lack of integrated artillery platforms into any of the field brigades. This is an intentional design choice - where battle is offered, Stryker doesn’t want to be sitting still long enough to deploy artillery and dig in. Instead, fleet elements provide enough air superiority to render the mightiest fortresses to rubble - either through pinpoint fire from lance batteries, or endless flights of Thunderbolts and Marauder bombers.